Shekhar Kapur’s Elizabeth: The Golden Age, from a screenplay by William Nicholson and Michael Hirst, turned out to be more rousingly entertaining than many of its less-than-lukewarm reviews had led me to anticipate.
Elizabeth: The Golden Age (2007)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:162
Fresh:55
Rotten:107
Average Rating:5.1/10
Consensus: This sequel is full of lavish costumes and elaborate sets, but lacks the heart and creativity of the original Elizabeth
Runtime: 1 hr 55 mins
Genre: Dramas
US Box Office: $16,264,475
Synopsis: Reprising the roles they originated in seven-time Academy Award®-nominated Elizabeth, Cate Blanchett and Geoffrey Rush return for a gripping historical thriller laced with treachery and... Reprising the roles they originated in seven-time Academy Award®-nominated Elizabeth, Cate Blanchett and Geoffrey Rush return for a gripping historical thriller laced with treachery and romance--The Golden Age. Joining them in the epic is Clive Owen as Sir Walter Raleigh, a dashing seafarer and newfound temptation for Elizabeth. Elizabeth: The Golden Age finds Queen Elizabeth I (Oscar®-winner Cate Blanchett) facing bloodlust for her throne and familial betrayal. Growing keenly aware of the changing religious and political tides of late 16th century Europe, Elizabeth finds her rule openly challenged by the Spanish King Philip II (Jordi Molla)--with his powerful army and sea-dominating armada--determined to restore England to Catholicism. Preparing to go to war to defend her empire, Elizabeth struggles to balance ancient royal duties with an unexpected vulnerability in her love for Raleigh. But he remains forbidden for a queen who has sworn body and soul to her country. Unable and unwilling to pursue her love, Elizabeth encourages her favorite lady-in-waiting, Bess (Abbie Cornish), to befriend Raleigh to keep him near. But this strategy forces Elizabeth to observe their growing intimacy. As she charts her course abroad, her trusted advisor, Sir Francis Walsingham (Academy Award® winner Geoffrey Rush), continues his masterful puppetry of Elizabeth's court at home--and her campaign to solidify absolute power. Through an intricate spy network, Walsingham uncovers an assassination plot that could topple the throne. But as he unmasks traitors that may include Elizabeth's own cousin Mary Stuart (Samantha Morton), he unknowingly sets England up for destruction. Elizabeth: The Golden Age tells the thrilling tale of an era...the story of one woman's crusade to control love, crush enemies and secure her position as a beloved icon of the western world. --© Universal Pictures [More]
Starring: Cate Blanchett, Geoffrey Rush, Clive Owen, Rhys Ifans
Starring: Cate Blanchett, Geoffrey Rush, Clive Owen, Rhys Ifans, Samantha Morton, Abbie Cornish, Jordi Molla
Director: Shekhar Kapur
Director: Shekhar Kapur
Screenwriter: William Nicholson, Michael Hirst
Producer: Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Jonathan Cavendish
Composer: Craig Armstrong, A.R. Rahman
Studio: Universal Pictures
Reviews for Elizabeth: The Golden Age
Fie on those who have trashed this entertainingly overheated historical conceit!
...gaudy, anachronistic cheese that's hard to swallow even as camp fun, let alone as serious history gussied up as entertainment.
Elizabeth: Full Throttle. Elizabeth: The Heretic. Elizabeth: Book of Shadows. Despite all the peacock kerfluffery Kapur can conjure, this remains an inscrutable film, in intent as well as execution.
I can almost recommend this film as a great-looking, bombastic guilty pleasure. But the soundtrack is unbearable, the soap opera love triangle -- laughable.
If you like your history lessons loud and garish, bombastic and bloody, then Elizabeth: The Golden Age is for you.
It's hard to enjoy all that naval carnage when the people on the ships are just as wooden as the planks.
Elizabeth I: II: Liz Harder is an enjoyable sequel which does not this time require you to have done your homework.
Kapur also demonstrates he has no knack for shooting fight scenes, meaning the boffo climax looks less like epic warfare and more like Shark Attack 3.
A failure on most any appreciable level: as compelling drama, as a history lesson, as a showcase for Blanchett's unparalleled talents... even as a sequel.
Sexual politics dominate The Golden Age, rendering the middle-aged Elizabeth more love sick adolescent than conquering warrior in this borderline bodice ripper.
The main difference between the first film and its new sequel is this: In "Elizabeth," Cate Blanchett emerged as one staunch, formidable queen. In "Elizabeth: The Golden Age," she's been reduced to a drag queen.
Blanchett [does] her level best to keep control of a movie going in 10 directions at once.
God save Cate Blanchett. Without her performance, this second history lesson on Elizabeth I's reign would be a little dry.
Latest News for Elizabeth: The Golden Age
February 04, 2009:
Exclusive: Inside Pinewood/Shepperton - A Photo Tour
Every year, the BAFTA film awards present a trophy for Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema. Introduced in 1978, the award recognises an organisation or a person's career... More...
October 27, 2008:
EnglandDVD.com: Cate Blanchett's workaholic Queen Liz too busy for boy toys, in this royal runway strut more about fashion statements than political statements. ![]()
More...
February 04, 2008:
RT on DVD: The Brave One, Assassination of Jesse James Fire Onto DVD
It's a week of bravura performances among new releases, so pick your favorite headliner and go: Jodie Foster going vigilante (The Brave One), Casey Affleck turning traitor (The... More...
December 13, 2007:
Atonement Leads Golden Globe Nominations
The nominations for the 65th annual Golden Globe Awards were announced this morning. Did your favorite films, stars, and songs make the cut? More...
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